it's never to late to love
by cindella31
Summary: what if tom had a little sister?what if one day she ran into a cetain blue eyed boy we all thought was gone forever?will love spark?will tom come around to his sister being with julian?will our favorite shadow man finally find the true love he deserves?
1. Chapter 1

"Nothing really dies as long as it's not forgotten,"

The game has played out. The players have settled down to normal life again. Julian is gone forever. At least that's what you think. What if Julian hadn't died? What if tom had a little sister? What if she fell for Julian? Well all these what ifs are now fact, and so our story begins….

Sydney walked slowly through the small park, the autumn leaves rustling in the wind as she made her way to her favorite bench and sat down to sketch. There was nothing she loved more than the feel of the breeze in her dark brown, shoulder length hair that sparkled with a hint of gold in the afternoon sun. She sighed contentedly as she moved her oil pastel, her current favorite medium, across her sketch pad in a graceful flow of lines. She hadn't really been paying attention to what she was sketching and when she finished up she realized she had drawn a boy.

He was extraordinarily handsome. He looked about her age, around 16, with hair so blonde it looked white, cut closer on the sides and shaggier in the front and back, it was a good look for him. All his other features were nice, really nice, but the most shocking were his eyes. They were the bluest blue and somehow Sydney just knew that if she was looking at the real thing they would be a million times bluer than her pastels could ever make them.

She slowly traced her finger along his cheek, he was beautiful, but he looked so sad and lonely that it almost made her want to cry. She wondered who this boy could be. She looked around the park, but the mysterious boy was nowhere in sight. Suddenly Sydney shivered, it was later than she had realized and was already getting dark, and cold. She better head home or Tommy would start to worry.

Closing up her oil pastel container she grabbed her bag and turned back in the direction of her house, which was just a couple minutes walk from the park. Finally turning up her driveway Sydney hurried to the door and let herself in with her key. As she locked the door behind her she called out "Tommy, I'm home!" "It's about time" tom said as he walked in from the living room where he had no doubt been waiting up for her. She loved him to pieces, but sometimes he took the protective older brother role to the extreme.

"Sorry I got caught up in my sketching" Sydney said apologetically as she hung her coat up in the closet. "I promise it won't happen again" she said, batting her very long lashes over her big, chocolate brown doe eyes before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. "You say that every time" tom sighed heavily. "So what were you so wrapped up in drawing this time" tom asked.


	2. Chapter 2

"well I ended up sketching some boy but by the time I actually looked up after I was finished he was gone" Sydney began while she pulled her sketch book out of her bag and started to flip through searching for the picture as she continued "he was really interesting looking, very exotic, and his eyes were so sad and lonely, I really wonder who he is" Sydney pondered as she continued to flip through her sketch book.

"Ah, here it is!" she said triumphantly as she handed the sketch book to tom. He glanced down at her picture and all the color drained out of his face. He dropped the book like it was on fire and glanced up at Sydney with the eyes of a frightened animal. "Where did you see this guy?" he asked, barely above a whisper. "Hey, don't just throw down other peoples things!" Sydney said, annoyed as she bent down to pick up her sketch book.

As she was reaching towards it tom grabbed her hand with an iron fist and stared at her. "Where did you see that guy" tom repeated, drawing out each word like he was talking to a child, his voice now steely. "Tommy you're hurting me!" Sydney gasped as tom's grip tightened. He blinked a couple times like he was just coming out of a daze and slowly let go of her wrist. "I'm sorry, but I need you to tell me where you saw him" tom said, now almost pleadingly.

"I told you I was in the park" she grumbled while rubbing her wrist. "What is the big deal? It's just some random guy I sketched, I've done it before and you never flipped out like this" she asked, now confused. "I'm sorry, it's just….a long story" tom sighed. "Well let's hear it" Sydney said. "Hear what?" tom was the confused one now. "Your long story lets hear it." She said determinedly. "Ummmm" tom said while scratching his head.

Suddenly Sydney's stomach grumbled loudly. "Dinner! You haven't had dinner yet!" tom quickly changed subjects. "I won't eat until you tell me" Sydney stated. "You're stubborn enough to actually go through with that" tom sighed. "Okay, but I need jenny to help me tell it so why don't we order a pizza and I'll call her. Then we can eat while I explain everything to you. Deal?" tom asked.

"Fine, but I want pepperoni" Sydney grumbled as she walked off towards the living room to sit on the couch and wait for jenny and the pizza. Finally 30 minutes later the pizza arrived, with jenny right behind it. "What's up Tommy?" jenny asked as she walked in and gave a quick kiss. Tom showed her Sydney's sketch and she lost all color in her face as she backed away from it like it was diseased.

"When did she draw that" jenny asked bluntly. "Tonight and I flipped out and now I agreed to tell her everything so I figured you could tell with me." Tom answered. "But we agreed to n-e-v-e-r tell anyone about what happened, let alone your little sister!" jenny replied, shocked.

"I know, but it's because she's my little sister that she deserves to know what happened. Besides I already told her I would tell and she said she wouldn't eat until I did" tom sighed. "She really would starve herself wouldn't she?" jenny sighed back. "Okay, but you have to talk too, I don't want to be the only one telling her everything" "fine, fine" tom said, relieved.


	3. Chapter 3

They all sat down on the couch with a plate of pizza in hand. "Well it all started one day when I was little and opened a door I shouldn't have…." Jenny began. A couple hours later the pizza was gone and the story was finished. "So that's why you flipped out when you saw my sketch, because this Julian guy is supposed to be gone?" Sydney asked.

"Yes, he's completely evil and he's probably back again to get jenny" tom said while squeezing jenny's hand tightly. "But we're not going to let that happen, I promise" he continued while gazing deeply into jenny's evergreen eyes. "He didn't look evil, just really sad." Sydney muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

"No, he's evil! Weren't you listening to a thing we said?" tom practically yelled. "Yes, I was," Sydney said irritatedly, "and I don't recall him doing anything at all evil." "Don't recall, did you really hear what we said!" tom was yelling now. "Yes I did! I recall him saving all your lives" Sydney yelled back while crossing her arms across her chest in defiance.

"Uuggghhh! Why can't you get it through your head, he's E-V-I-L!" tom spelled out slowly, clenching his fists in anger. "I'm done talking to you, I'm going to bed" Sydney fumed as she stormed off to her room. "Fine!" tom grumbled back to the loud slam of a door upstairs.

A couple minutes later he drooped down as all the anger and tension faded. "That's the first fight we've ever had" tom practically whimpered, holding his head in his hands and sighing heavily. "Oh Tommy, it's okay, I'm sure by tomorrow things will have cooled off and everything will be back to normal" jenny said reassuringly as she patted tom on the back. "You think so?" tom said hopefully as he lifted his head to look at jenny with his big chocolate brown eyes like an expectant puppy.

"I know so" jenny said as she gave tom a big hug. "I gotta go now Tommy, but I'll see you later" "okay, bye thorny" tom said with a slightly forced smile. Tom dragged himself off to bed and fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning Sydney woke up and quietly got dressed, grabbed her drawing supplies and left tom a note saying she had gone to the library because she knew he would freak out if she told him where she was really planning to go. "I'm sorry Tommy" she whispered as she slowly closed the front door and made her way to the park where she had sketched Julian.


	4. Chapter 4

She walked up to her usual bench and started to sketch with her oil pastels. She was so entranced in her sketching that it took her a couple minutes to notice the boy standing behind her, looking over her shoulder at her sketch. It was another picture of Julian, that sad look still shadowing his face.

"Oh, you startled me, I didn't notice you there…." Sydney trailed off as she turned to face the boy behind and saw the bluest eyes she had ever seen. They were so blue they made every other blue seem pale and washed out in comparison. "Julian!" she gasped.

He seemed to be ignoring her at first, only staring intently at her sketch. But as soon as she said his name he whipped his head over and stared at her in shock. He opened his mouth as if about to speak then changed his mind and closed it again. He then proceeded to go back to staring at her sketch. She watched him for a minute then tore the sketch out of her sketchpad and held it out towards Julian.

"Here you can have it since you seem to like it so much. I've got more and it is of you and seeing as I kind of drew it without your permission I think it's only fair you should have it." Sydney said, a slight blush painting her cheeks. Julian did the same open-close thing with his mouth that he had done just a second ago. Finally he said in barely more than a whisper, shock evident on his face "are you speaking to me?"

"Well obviously, there's no one else here right now" Sydney chuckled. "You can see me?" Julian said, shock and awe passing in intervals over his perfect face. "Yes. What did you think I was blind or something?" Sydney asked confused. Julian came walking around the bench and sat down next to Sydney before continuing. "You really can see me?" he questioned. "Yes" Sydney replied.

"You shouldn't be able to because…." Julian trailed off. "Never mind. So you said this was for me?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in a question as he pointed to her sketch. "Yes, here" Sydney replied as she held out the sketch. Julian took it from her small hands, handling it carefully as if it was precious. He looked back up at her and smiled. The pair spent the rest of the afternoon talking about nothing and everything. Finally Sydney looked down at her watch.

"Oh shoot! I have to go now, my brother will be worried about me, but I'll be here again tomorrow after school if you want to talk again." Sydney finished, looking at Julian for an answer. "I would like that very much my lady" he smiled as he took her hand and gave it a light kiss. Sydney blushed beet red and excused herself as she made her way back home.

The next day after school she was back sketching in the park as she had promised and Julian came to keep her company and chat as he had promised. They continued to do this everyday for the next few weeks, tom never suspecting that his little sister was slowly falling for the shadow man he so despised. One day as Julian came and sat next to Sydney as usual she took a deep breath and turned to him with a serious expression on her face. "Julian we've been spending a lot of time together and I think I've fallen in love with you." Sydney finished, taking another deep breath as she waited for his reaction.

"Sydney I…. I love you too but we can't be together, I shouldn't have even started meeting with you like this." Julian said with a pained expression on his face. "But why" Sydney asked, confused. "Just trust me when I tell you I'm not the right kind of guy for you" Julian said gently. "Why not" Sydney asked, her expression turning steely as she crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly. "Please, this is hard enough already" Julian said, pained, looking away from her.

"Is it because of what you are, because I don't care if you're a shadow man, I love you anyway." Sydney said. Julian snapped his head up "what did you say?" he asked her quickly. "I know you're a shadow man" Sydney repeated. "How?" Julian asked in shock. "I….know jenny. She's like a sister to me and she told me everything." Sydney said, not completely lying, just leaving tom out of it. "Jenny told you everything. She couldn't have told you everything, if she had there's no way you could think you're in love with me." Julian said, sadness shadowing his perfect face.

"she did tell me everything and I do love you Julian" Sydney said softly as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Why, I'm evil" Julian sighed. "I don't believe that. You saved summer, you never really hurt anyone and you sacrificed yourself to save everyone else, you gave up on jenny so she could be happy. You could have stolen her away again once you came back but you didn't." Sydney stated.

"You're beautiful inside and out. After I lost jenny I didn't think I'd ever be able to love someone as much as I loved jenny but then I met you…. I love you Sydney" Julian sighed as he grabbed her into a hug. She squeezed him back, "and I love you Julian." They stayed there snuggled together for a long time. Finally Sydney reluctantly pulled away "I have to go, but tomorrow's Saturday so I'll be here early." She smiled as she gave Julian a sweet peck on the cheek and walked off.

The next morning Sydney woke up extra early and snuck out. Tom woke up and suspicious decided to follow her. He was less than pleased when he saw her begin to sketch inside the park. Why was she here, didn't she realize it was dangerous, Julian could still be lurking around here? Tom thought in frustration. He stormed over to her, "what are you doing?" he growled at her. "Tommy! What are you doing here?" Sydney asked in shock.

"That's what I wanna know." Tom said furiously. "I was just sketching" Sydney mumbled. "Don't you know it's dangerous here, he could come back at any time, and I just don't want to see you get hurt." Tom sighed, giving Sydney a hug. She hugged him back and then pulled away to see "Julian!" he was standing behind tom, a look of pain and sorrow covering his face.

Sydney went to run to his side but tom grabbed her wrist and turned to glare in fury at Julian. Shock briefly passed over Julian's face when he saw it was tom, before his face fell even more than it had been before. Why was it always him! First jenny, now Sydney…. Wait if he was with her now… "What about jenny!" he yelled in fury. "It's not enough that you had to steal her away from me now Sydney too? Jenny trusted you and you betrayed her, I can't believe I ever thought jenny was better off with you!" Julian screamed at tom.

"What are you talking about, I love jenny with all my heart. You're the one at fault! First you try to steal away my girlfriend and now-"tom was cut off as Julian jumped at him. "How dare you!" he cried as he attacked tom. Tom attacked back and in seconds they were in battle. "STOP IT!" Sydney screamed, tears running down her face. "please, just stop" she whimpered, falling to her knees.

"How could you…with him… I thought you loved me" Julian cried out in pain. "I do, if you would just let me explain" Sydney sobbed. "What! You can't love him!" tom cried out in shock. "Just shut up and let me finish Tommy!" Sydney yelled at him. "Julian, I do love you, I love you with all my heart. There is nothing going on between me and Tommy, he's still madly in love with jenny, he's my overly protective older brother." she finished. "Your brother!" Julian cried in shock.


End file.
